Whether you’re new to the streaming scene or just looking to improve your viewer’s experience when tuning in, there are many factors to consider when tweaking the quality of your live stream.
This might leave you with the question, how much soundproofing do you need for streaming?
Since there’s no way to go back and edit external noises or interference in a live time stream, soundproofing is necessary to ensure there are no distractions as you record. The more soundproofing you include, the better your viewers will be able to enjoy your stream.
The following sections will further outline and describe how much soundproofing you need for live streaming. What soundproofing is, the best ways to soundproof a room for streaming, and general tips and tricks for improving your live stream will also be discussed.
Soundproofing for Streaming
Just as there are different magnitudes and degrees of recording microphones and speakers, there are varying degrees of soundproofing. The extent to which you soundproof the room you are streaming from is entirely dependent upon your environment.
If your streaming site is relatively isolated and your recordings don’t have outside noise or feedback from unwanted sources, you won’t require large amounts of soundproofing. But if you’re in a place where unexpected noises often occur, you’ll need more soundproofing to prevent attention from being drawn away from your stream.
Assessing the Room You Stream In
When determining how much soundproofing you need for a live recording, do a quick survey of the room you’ll be streaming from. Does it have thick walls or doors? Are there parts of the room where the air is getting in through gaps around doors and windows?
Thick walls and doors in a room can help reduce the amount of sound entering the room, but it can also negatively affect recordings inside the room.
Soundwaves are prevented from coming in, which means they’re prevented from coming out of the room. This can sometimes create an echo inside the room. To reduce this effect, materials that absorb sound should be placed in the room.
If the room you’re streaming from has a lot of gaps or holes in it, you might want to consider placing material to make it more air-sealed. One method of doing this is to include an “air space” between the room’s surrounding walls.
This might require adding temporary walls or rebuilding the room so that the barrier to the outside consists of a “wall sandwich” or two layers of walls with a gap in between them.
The amount of soundproofing necessary is also determined by how dedicated and serious you are about your streams. If this is something you do for fun in your spare time, you most likely won’t want to invest a lot of time and effort into soundproofing a room or area. But if live streaming is something you do at a professional level for profit, considerable soundproofing is something you should definitely invest in.
What Is Soundproofing?
Soundproofing is defined as any measures taken to reduce or to remove unwanted noises from a particular setting.
This setting might be a room, office, or recording studio. It can be done to prevent noise or interference from entering a room or prevent noise from escaping a room.
No matter the circumstances, the goal of soundproofing is the reduction of noise. This is often applied to music recordings or live streams. In a music recording, it’s easier to edit the feedback you’re trying to record when there’s no interference in the recording. In a live stream, the same principle is applied.
Best Methods To Use for Soundproofing
When it comes to methods of noise reduction, there are countless ways to soundproof a room. Some ways to soundproof a room are more expensive and require some serious renovation or contracting work. But in case you’re looking for more instant and inexpensive ways to soundproof your stream, we’ve got you covered.
Short-Term Methods of Soundproofing
Here are short-term methods of soundproofing:
- Acoustic paneling: an easy way to soundproof a room is to place acoustic panels on the walls or ceilings. These panels are incredibly absorbent of soundwaves and will prevent noise inside the room from echoing and noise from outside entering the room.
- Thick curtains: if you aren’t looking to replace the windows in your streaming room, a close alternative would be to hang thick soundproof curtains. This dense material will absorb the sound more than a regularly layered glass window.
- Foam tiles: if the room you stream from has hardwood or tile, but you aren’t looking to place expensive carpeting, consider using foam tiles instead. This is an easy way to prevent a floor from bouncing soundwaves around the room and is less costly than replacing the floor entirely or buying large rugs to cover it.
Long-Term Methods of Soundproofing
Here are long-term methods of soundproofing:
- Windows: installing soundproof windows is a great way to ensure that interfering noises aren’t seeping into your streaming audio through air gaps. Windows have varying amounts of glaze applied to them. Installing a window with double or triple glaze can help reduce noise.
- Walls: as mentioned before, sometimes thick walls and doors can create an echo inside the room. If you’re interested in avoiding this, consider redoing the surrounding walls in your streaming room or putting up temporary walls to create a barrier of two walls with a space in between them.
- Floors: surprisingly, the foundation of a room can have a significant impact on the sound recorded. If you’re streaming from a room with hardwood surfaces or tile, consider changing it and putting down thick wall-to-wall carpeting. Carpets absorb the sound far better than hard surfaces.
Why Do I Need Soundproofing for My Live Stream?
Soundproofing the room you intend to broadcast your stream from can entirely change and enhance your viewer’s experience. It’ll be easier to hear and understand you without additional feedback or noise coming from unwanted sources.
When you’re conducting a stream, you want your audience to be able to focus on you!
Especially if you live in a high-traffic area or a home with others around you, soundproofing will allow you to prevent the police sirens, barking dogs, or talking roommate from interrupting your live stream. This will improve your viewer’s experience tenfold.
Key Takeaways
When you’re looking to improve the quality of your stream, soundproofing your room is a guaranteed way to do it.
There are many different ways to soundproof a room. Some require construction and additional configurations, while others do not.
The easiest ways to soundproof a room include adding foam tiles, thick curtains, or acoustic paneling.